The deal clears a designated player spot on the Galaxy's roster for Irish international striker Robbie Keane, whom the Galaxy acquired from Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League on Monday. Keane, 31, is captain of Ireland's national team. Keane is expected to make his Galaxy debut Saturday against San Jose at the Home Depot Center.

Angel, 35, was a disappointment this season for the Galaxy, scoring only three goals with one assist in 22 games.

The Galaxy (13-3-9) has the best record in the MLS, while Chivas (7-8-9) is fighting for a playoff spot.

-- Barry Stavro

Chivas USA defender Jimmy Conrad is retiring after a concussion limited him to two games this season. Conrad is a five-time All-Star over 13 seasons in MLS, including eight with Kansas City.

TENNIS

Williams withdraws

Serena Williams woke up with a sore and swollen right big toe Wednesday, prompting her to withdraw from the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio -- the latest in her long streak of foot problems and setbacks.

Williams had won two straight tournaments at Stanford and Toronto, and her win Tuesday night at the Cincinnati-area tournament was her seventh match in eight days.

On the court, top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki dropped her opening match for the second consecutive week, falling to Christina McHale, 6-4, 7-5, in the second round.

In the men's event, top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat Ryan Harrison, 6-2, 6-3, and second-seeded Rafael Nadal beat qualifier Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 7-5, despite burns on the index and middle finger of his right hand, which the left-hander uses to steady his backhand shot. Nadal said he touched a hot plate at a restaurant a few days ago. Both fingers were wrapped in gauze for protection.

ETC.

IBF orders rematch

The International Boxing Federation has ordered a rematch of Abner Mares' bantamweight title victory over Joseph Agbeko.

Mares won a narrow majority-decision victory Saturday at Las Vegas, but he also threw several apparently low blows that went unpenalized by referee Russell Mora.

The order by IBF President Daryl J. Peoples claims that "inappropriate conduct by the referee affected the outcome of the fight."

Agbeko promoter Don King praised the IBF's order for a rematch in the next four months. Mares will be stripped of his title if he declines the rematch, and Agbeko would fight another challenger.

Danica Patrick is close to joining NASCAR full-time starting in 2012, and will run the entire Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports, ESPN.com reported, citing people familiar with the talks.

Patrick has raced in the IndyCar Series and the Nationwide series this season and last season. She also plans to enter select Sprint Cup races next season in vehicles prepped by Stewart Haas Racing, with the goal to move to Cup full-time with Stewart Haas in 2013, the people said.

A former NBA referee shot and killed himself in a suburban New Orleans hotel room on the same day his wife was found strangled at their Houston-area home last week, authorities said Wednesday.

A law-enforcement official in Montgomery County, Texas, said Troy Raymond, 46, was a "person of interest" in the death of his wife, Leslie Anderson Raymond, whose body was discovered last Thursday at their home in Spring.

Troy Raymond's body was discovered at a hotel in Jefferson Parish. The coroner's office said he shot himself in the head.

Tim Holifield, a Montgomery County constable, said Raymond has not been named a suspect in his 41-year-old wife's killing and that it is premature to connect their deaths.

Raymond was a NBA referee during the 2003-04 season and more recently has refereed college basketball games, including for the Sun Belt Conference.